Burwash Parish Council had prepared a Neighbourhood Plan (BNP) following designation of the parish as a Neighbourhood Area in 2016.  The BNP was currently subject to a formal public consultation until 6 November 2020.  Representations received would be considered by an independent Examiner to determine whether the BNP met the ‘basic conditions’ required.  The Council was a statutory consultee and therefore was able to make representations as part of the process.  It was noted that so as not to compromise the Council’s ability to comment on the draft BNP by the due deadline, the Chairman of Council had already agreed that this matter could be taken as an urgent decision and therefore outside the call-in arrangements.

The Council’s proposed representations were detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.

Councillor Vine-Hall, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning acknowledged the amount of work and effort that had gone into the production of the BNP by the Burwash Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group (BNDPSG) and Council Planning officers.  Unfortunately, mutually poor communication between the BNDPSG, Burwash Parish Council and the Council had led to neither the BNP nor the Development and Site Allocations Local Plan allocating sites in line with the Core Strategy.  He also advised that additional information had been received from BNDPSG on 31 October 2020 which challenged a number of points in the Council’s representations and had been disseminated to Cabinet Members prior to the meeting.

Following discussion and hearing from both Ward Members who were supportive of the BNP, in order to progress the BNP, it was agreed that representations 2 to 22 made at Appendix 1 to the report be submitted (with all relevant documentation) on behalf of the District Council in response to the Regulation 16 consultation.  Representation 1 would be deferred for the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning, in consultation with officers to consider the comments raised by BNDPSG on 31 October 2020 and a revised representation be submitted by 6 November 2020.  It was also agreed that the Chief Executive be authorised to consider any potential modifications to the NP which might rise through the examination process in order to secure a NP in general conformity with the adopted CS and Development and Site Allocations Local Plan.

It was important to send a message to other NP groups, that the Council wanted to support and nurture all NPs and the appointment of a dedicated NP officer should help to avoid issues like the one that had been experienced with the BNP.

It was the Councils desire that the BNP passed examination and progressed to a successful referendum.

RESOLVED: That:

1)    representations 2 to 22 set out at Appendix 1 be submitted, together with supporting material, for consideration by the Examiner while representation 1 relating to the basic conditions be deferred to the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning, in consultation with officers to consider the comments received from the Burwash Neighbourhood Development Planning Steering Group on 31 October 2020 and a revised representation be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69